Intro To AAC

ableism

the discrimination or prejudice against people who have disabilities

micro-aggressions

“that is so lame”, “are you off ur meds”, “that guy is crazy”

how to avert ableism

ex. Believe people when they disclose a disability, Listen to people when they request an accommodation, Don't speak on behalf of someone with a disability unless they ask you to

Is ableism always intentional?

no

What behaviors are considered minor ableism?

• Assuming people must have a visible disability to be disabled

• Talking to a person with a disability like they are a child

• Framing disability as tragic or inspirational

• Asking invasive questions about the medical history or personal life of someone with a disability

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act

civil rights law that prohibits discrimination in public schools, institutions of higher education, and other state and local education agencies that receive federal funding ex, extended time on tests , modified assignments 

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

Schools are responsible for locating, identifying, and evaluating all children who may need special education services, IEP

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 

Civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability status, ex curb cuts, self-opening doors, ramps

Large Scale Opression

the systemic and widespread mistreatment of a social group or groups, rooted in power imbalances and often maintained through institutional practices, social norms, and individual biases, ex the holocaust, slavery

Forms of Large Scale Oppression

• Interpersonal: Individual prejudice and biases in everyday interactions

• Institutional: Policies, laws, and practices

• Internalized: Attitudes, beliefs, and feelings

Is ableism a form of large scale oppression?

yes

Attitude and Practice Barriers

• Refusing to provide reasonable accommodations

• Using disability as a punchline, or mocking people with disabilities

• Framing disability as either tragic or inspirational in news stories, movies, and other popular forms pf media (inspirational porn)

• Red tape (ex. Waitlists, endless paperwork)

Intersectionality

recognizes that a person’s experience of disability is shaped by the interaction of their disability with other aspects of their identity, such as race, gender, socioeconomic status, and sexual orientation

TC - Total Communication

• a philosophy of communication that supports AAC

• Use of residual speech along with expanded use of multiple modalities such as 

  • Gesture 

  • Body movement

  • Facial expression

  • Prosody

  • Writing

  • Drawing

TC in Children with Cochlear Implants 

• Placement in a TC setting (speech plus sign) post implant did not prevent speech use 

• Children who used speech either with or without sign showed a progression toward greater mainstream placement over time

TC in Adults with Aphasia

Functional use of residual language + use of multimodality resources and strategies (gestures, graphics, and AAC devices) = improvement of communicative interactions

What is AAC

Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Is AAC considered a temporary method for communicating?

It can be both temporary and permanent

Can someone speak and use AAC for communication?

yes

AAC Assessment 

• AAC assessment is a team approach

• AAC user and family are included in the team

• AAC users and their families preferences and attitudes should be considered in decision making

Social Network Inventory

• Circles of Communication Partners

  • Circle 1: family

  • Circle 2: friends

  • Circle 3: acquaintances 

  • Circle 4: colleagues

  • Circle 5: strangers

AAC Intervention: Aided Language Modeling

• Communication partner selects symbols on the AAc user’s AAC device/system while communicating with the user

• Encourage the use of AAC

• Reinforce expression

AAC Intervention: Expectant Delay

• Time delay

• Communication partner allows AAC user to take enough time to respond 

• AAC user is provided with the time, opportunity, and expectation to communicate 

AAC Intervention: WH Questions

• Promoting communicative turns

• Higher content turns than yes/no questions

AAC Intervention: Caregiver Training

Caregivers learn to facilitative interaction skills and strategies to better support the communication of AAC users